New observations on the Dionysian scene mosaic panels in the House of the Triumph of Dionysus in Daphne-Antiocheia: iconographic description of the Periaktos system in the decorative architecture of the theatre stage building

Abstract

In the ancient settlement of Daphne in the Harbiye district of Antakya, excavations carried out by American and French teams between 1932 and 1940 uncovered Roman ruins such as a theatre, church and villa. In the publications on the mosaic, the objects on either side of the actors and masks in the L-shaped panels of the Dionysian centre panel in the Dionysian Victory House have been interpreted as boxes and drawers. With this study, it has been seen that the mosaic panel of the Roman villa called "The House of the Triumph of Dionysus", where a theatrical theme related to the god Dionysos is processed, is the first known iconographic expression of the wooden, prismatic rotating decor system periaktos found in the theatre stage building. We know about the periaktos from the accounts of Vitruvius. Since this decor system was made of wood, it was not possible to find archaeological remains of it. The only archaeological data on the periaktos system is the stone platform on which the periaktos system sits in the stage building of the Kaunos theatre discovered by Prof. Vark & imath;van & ccedil;. With this study, the pictorial expression of the stage decor system on mosaics, which we know from Vitruvius' reports, has also been identified